On an inspection tour of a major industrial region, China’s President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his push for increased creativity and technical self-reliance, as the United States tightens restrictions on Chinese access to breakthrough technologies.
China should speed up the improvement of essential technologies and core products, according to Xinhua, quoting Xi during a visit to a company’s high-tech manufacturing zone in eastern Jiangsu province on Friday.
“With the rapid development of information technology and the emergence of disruptive technologies at any time,” Xi stated, “it is necessary to maintain a firm footing on the path of innovation and contribute to the realization of high-level technological self-reliance.”
Xi’s demand to boost technological innovation comes as tensions between the United States and China over semiconductors escalate under President Joe Biden’s leadership.
Following a comprehensive set of export limits last year that cut China off from certain semiconductor chips created anywhere in the globe with US equipment, Washington is considering new limitations on sales of artificial intelligence microchips.
The US is also considering limiting the flow of US capital and know-how into Chinese firms working on advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
To preserve China’s technological development, Xi has increasingly emphasized self-reliance and the necessity for scientific breakthroughs, even turning to state-owned enterprises to win the “battle” of important core technologies and ensure China’s industrial security.
China hastily announced export curbs on two metals commonly used in semiconductors and electric vehicles earlier this week, ostensibly to safeguard its national security and interests, with Chinese state media and a policy adviser describing it as “just a start.”
The United States seeks healthy competition with China based on fair norms that benefit both nations, not a “winner-take-all” approach, according to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Friday.
Yellen’s visit to China comes just weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit, during which he agreed with Xi that the mutual rivalry should not escalate into conflict.
